Thursday, March 27, 2014

Cinderella Ate My Daughter - Connections


a.     Article name: Cinderella Ate My Daughter

Author: Peggy Orenstein





b.     I have chosen to do my post on CONNECTIONS



I have chosen to connect Orenstein’s article with Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us and Getting Older Younger.  I wanted to start off by talking about Orenstein’s article, Cinderella Ate My Daughter.  In the article, the author states, “Princess, has not only become the fastest-growing brand the company has ever created, it is the largest franchise on the planet for girls ages two to six,”(14). At such young ages, we are already brain washed into playing and needing or wanting to have the “hot” toy that’s for sale and whatever is “popular” at the time. This relates greatly to the reading, “They’re Getting Older Younger”.  Teens are heavily influenced by what they see in the media and get whatever is being mainstreamed, just as these two-six year old children, and will buy the product no matter the price. The items may include clothes, accessories, babies, American girl dolls$$$, etc.). Both the teens in that article and the children mentioned in Orenstein’s, are driven to keep up with the latest products and styles that are being marketed. In Christensen’s piece, Unlearning the Myths That Bind us, she talked about how in our society’s culture, the industry has a major impact on our minds and how it teaches children and teens how to act, live and dream. That part of the article relates greatly to Orenstein’s piece, especially when she talks about when she visited the Fisher-Price showroom. “The preschool girls’ section was decorated with a banner on which the words BEAUTIFUL, PRETTY, COLORFUL were repeated over and over (and over) in pink script,”(51). While on the other hand, the boy’s section was in blue, and the titles held words such as energy, heroes, and power! I find that pretty disgusting those these were the words chosen for girls and boys. Boys should not think they are the only ones who are capable of power, and girls should not think that all they can ever be is "pretty'? It gives young children the wrong idea of what reality and LIFE really is.  This relates to what I mentioned early in Christensen’s piece; children are taught what roles they can and cannot hold, what they can and cannot do, how they should and shouldn't act, etc. These are distorted views/images that are being displayed for young viewers. . ..\/

The piece got me so aggregated, and it makes me nervous on how society is going to be when I have my own children one day. I want them to make there own decisions, and play with whatever toys they want to play with, and not be pressured into what the media is advertising and telling us how to act and who to be. “Outside, on the streets of Manhatten, it was the twenty-first century, but the scene here in toy land was straight out of Mad Men, as if the feminist movement had never happened,”(51).  In Orenstein’s piece, I found it interesting that one of her daughter’s friends asked her why her helmet wasn’t pink, and since it wasn’t pink it wasn’t a girls one. I agree with the author when she states, “Would other girls view her with suspicion-even exclude her- if she did not display the proper colors?,”(39). Peer pressure and bullying are starting at such a young age and continues throughout teenage years and adulthood. Although these articles were focused on different topics, they all seemed to coexist in many ways that I mentioned throughout the blog post.




C.  Some things that I would like to discuss in class are, what was your overall reaction to the piece? Do you feel as though you were affected by princesses, barbies, bratz, etc?
(negative or positive)
Are boys the ones who are more limited? (Orenstein mentions this on page 22).
Check out the hyperlinks- reactions?



8 comments:

  1. i like how you connected the different readings. i did something similar i just didnt identify them. but you are right. why do the girls get beautiful and the boys get strong? why cant everyone be beautiful and strong and powerful?

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  2. I also commented on my connection to "Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us." I think you did a good job with the connections and brought more to my attention!

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  3. i enjoyed reading your post, i agree that Cinderella ate My daughter is connected to unlearning the myths. i think these myths are present in society today, that boys should only like boy things, and girls should only like girl things. Your picture you added was a great representation of this and EXACTLY how society works/influences children today.

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  4. I thought it was interesting in the Orenstein reading how pink was originally a boys color. It is amazing how times change. Nice job on the connections. I also mentioned the connection to the other reading as well.

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  5. Really nice job on the connections! I also connected to "Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us" and I think you did a good job.

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  6. good connections! it's horrible that there are so many gender roles in our society that shove people into boxes.

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  7. i feel the same way...i am afraid for when i have children. i already know that even if i break free from this whole princess and pink is for girls blue is for boys culture, i know that friends and family will not. i mean i do not feel that i was affected by princess or disney or barbie but then again maybe when i was younger i was affected and i was unaware of it.

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  8. That's a good question...I feel like I want my kids to stay clear of Princess culture, but I also want them to make their own decisions...granted these "own decisions" will be highly influenced by the children and people around them, so would it really be their own?

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